A probe revealed Saturday that 87 people were killed when security forces broke up a protest camp in the Sudanese capital on June 3.
Fath al-Rahman Saeed, the head of the investigative committee appointed by the public prosecutor, said members of the security forces fired live ammunition at protesters in Khartoum who were demanding the military cede power.
Saeed told a news conference three officers had violated orders by moving forces into the sit-in area outside the Defense Ministry, a focal point during protests that led to the ouster of long-time President Omar al-Bashir on April 11.
Saeed said 17 of the 87 people killed were in the square occupied by protesters in the worst bout of violence since Bashir was toppled. He said 168 people were wounded, with 48 of them hit by bullets.
“Some outlaws exploited this gathering and formed another gathering in what is known as the Columbia area, where negative and illegal practices took place,” Saeed said, adding one of the three officers involved ordered his forces to whip protesters.
“It became a security threat, forcing the authorities to make necessary arrangements to clear the area,” Saeed said.
The committee’s findings put the death toll higher than the Health Ministry’s previous estimate of 61. But opposition medics have said 127 people were killed and 400 people wounded.
“The findings of this committee represent a shock to the Sudanese street and the regional and international communities,” said Ismail al-Taj, a leader in the Sudanese Professionals’ Association (SPA), part of the opposition coalition.
“Reality says that there are closer to 130 martyrs,” Taj said, adding that the committee had relied on Health Ministry records, which he said were inaccurate.
But he said the committee’s assessment would not affect the political process.
The opposition Forces of Freedom and Change is negotiating with the ruling military council to finalize an agreement for a three-year transition to elections. The two sides signed a deal on July 17 determining the transition’s institutions.
Negotiators travelled on Saturday to Juba, the capital of South Sudan which seceded from Sudan in 2011, to work on a constitutional declaration to determine the role of a new council to run Sudan. Direct talks are expected on Sunday.
